Indicator, display apparatus, or annunciator



S. MADSEN Sept. 17, 1929.

INDICATOR, DISPLAY APPARATUS OR ANNUNCIATOR Filed Aug. 2 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet twat? xttxfi ATTORN EY Sept. 17, 1929.

INDICATOR, DISPLAY APPARATUS OR ANNUNCIATOR Filed Aug. 24, 1927 5. MADSEN 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 My INV N e" m 1 ATTORNEY Sept. 17, 1929., s. MADSEN 1,728,900

INDICATOR, DISPLAY APPARATUS OR ANNUNCIATOR Filed Aug. 2 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 NVENTOR MU7W' Patented Sept. 17, 1929 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SOREN MADSEN, OF BERGEN'FIELD, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-FOURTH TO JOSEPH F. O'BRIEN, OF ENGLEWOOD, NEW JERSEY INDICATOR, DISPLAY APPARATUS, OR ANNUNCIATOR Application filed August 24, 1927. Serial No. 215,054.

This invention relates to improvements in indicators, display apparatus or annunciators and more especially to run-indicating apparatus for railroads, trolley cars, buses or the like and devices for indicating or announcing time at railroad stations and the like.

Objects of this invention are to produce a device of this character which may be operated with great speed, facility and positiveness to select and display any one of a plurality or set of units of information, such as numbers, words, or the like; to produce a device of the character specified, in which a set of plates, each of which contains a differcut item of information, are mounted collectively while the members of a set are arranged to be selectively released for display by the movement of asingle element; to provide a device in which a set of plates, each 0 containing an item of information, are suspended from a single suspension element and selectively releasable for display by movement or operation of the said suspension element; to provide a device of the character specified in which room is provided for the facile operation of an operating element and the operating element is movable to varying positions transversely of the face of the plates of a set to selectively display any one of such plates; to provide a pointer on the operating element in connection with an indicating scale for showing the position at which any one of the plates of a set may be released; to provide means whereby a single plate only from each set of plates may be exposed at one time and all the other nlates will, during exposure of any one of said plates, be locked in unexposed position against release until the plate first released is returned to initial position; to provide a device in which a set of information-containing plates are collectively mounted on a common operating element and c0- operative means is provided in said plate for said operating element to enable the selection for exposure of any one of said plates by the movement of said operating element; to provide a series of plate-mounting compartments, each having a set of plates containing items of information, and means whereby each operating member of a set may be independently operated to release a plate while in unexposed position and means is provided for simultaneously moving to exposed position all of such released platesand also returning simultaneously to unexposed position members from a plurality or series of sets of indicating plates.

With these and other objects in view, the invention. comprises the combination of members and arrangement of parts so combined as to co-act and cooperate with each other in the performance of the functions and the accomplishment of the results herein contemplated, and comprises in one of its adaptations the species or preferred form illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a front elevation of an indicator embodying my invention suitable for use as a runplate on buses;

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the device shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical, longitudinal section of the device illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4: is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing the scale-plate removed;

Fig. 5 is a vertical, cross-section substantially on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is an isometric view of a. series of plates removed from a compartment and spacedfrom each other to show the varying positions of the vertical releasing slots in relation to the suspension slots and locking notches in aset of plates;

Fig. 7 is a transverse section on the line 77 of Fig. 5, looking in the direction of the arrow;

Fig. 8 is another transverse section on the line 8-8 of Fig. 5, looking in the direction of the arrow; and

Fig. 9 is a section on the line 99 of Fig. 5, looking in the direction of'the arrows.

Referring now to these drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment of my invention, 1 indicates a main casing which, in the form shown, is rectangular in configuration and may be composed of any suitable material. The casing 1 is preferably divided into a plurality of compartments and, in the embodiment shown, the interior of the said casin is divided by partitions 2, 2 into three identical compartments 3, each of which is adapted to receive and house a set 4 comprising a plurality of indicating members or plates, each preferably containing a different item of information and, in the example shown, each having one of the series of numeric digits. It will be apparent that any desired number of compartments and sets may be similarly mounted and upon the exposure of one of these digits from each compartment, any desired number may be indicated or exposed. In the embodiment shown, the plates are mounted to be raised and lowered in a compartment 3, being initially arranged or mounted in the upper part of the compartment which is enclosed at the front side of the casing or box by the Wall section 1 and are, from this unexposed position or section, adapted to slide vertically to a lower display section of the box which is provided with a. glazed opening 1 adapted to form a Window through which the indicating devices may, when lowered, be exposed or rendered visible.

In accordance with. my invention, a set of indicating members are collectively mounted in one of said compartments and are arranged to be selectively releasable by the movement of a single operating element preferably movable in :a transverse direction across the face of the compartment.

In the preferred embodiment illustrated, the indicating members of a set are provided with horizontal slots 6 which register with each other to permit the collective mounting and suspension or retention of the members of a set by a single operating element comprising a shaft or pin 5, and each of the indicating members is provided at different portions along; its top edge with a vertical slot communicating with the horizontal suspension or retention slot and with the top of the indicating member, so that when the shaft or pin. 5 is moved transversely in the registering horizontal slots 6, it will, in varying positions of travel along said slot, register in turn with each one of the vertical slots in a set of indicating members. A movement, therefore, of this shaft transversely of the face of a member or set of members will enable registration and release of any one of the various plates in a set.

To spell out a number of any numeric value greater than a digit or to spell out a Word from a series of letters, it is necessary to release a single indicating member from a plurality of sets of such members. To this end I employ, as above indicated, a single casing or box having a series of compartments in which are mounted a series or plurality of sets of indicating members, and I use in combination with a single releasing element for each set, a carrier 8 movable to simultaneously lower or raise the released members of a plurality of series of sets. This carrier 8 is normally latched in raised position in contact with the lower edge of the indicating members or plates in the several compartments, and the movement of an operating pin into registration with a vertical slot, therefore, merely releases the particular plate with whose vertical slot it is brought into registration to enable lowering by the carrier 8, and when the other indicating members of the series of sets which it is desired to expose are similarly released, the carrier 8 is unlatched and lowered to simultaneously lower the released member from each set, thus simultaneously lowering into, exposed position the complete number or item of information which it is desired to indicate or announce.

In order to enable remounting of the lowered indicating members or plates and a concealing of the numbers or words thereon, it desirable that the pin be retained in registration with the vertical slot 7 of the lowered member and that all the other members be locked against release, and in order to insure the retention of the pin in vertical alignment with the slot of the lowered mem-v bers and also to lock the other members against release, I provide, in cooperation with each set of indicating members, a locking plate 4 which has a registering horizontal suspension slot 6 through which the. operating pin passes and is also provided with a series of locking notches 7 each registering with a vertical slot of one of the other members so that when the carrier is lowered this plate will move downwardly by gravity a slight distance and one of these locking notches will register with and fit over the pin so as to lock it in the position which it had assumed when the carrier was lowered.

It will be apparent, therefore, that when the operating pin is moved into registration with any one of the vertical-releasing slots and the carrier is then lowered, this pin will, by the action of the locking plate, be automatically locked in position to register with the vertical slot in and engage with this plate when it is again raised by the carrier into unexposed position.

lVhen my invention is used to indicate the number of the run or as a run-plate on buses or the like, and the face of the indicating digits are painted or otherwise inscribed on the front side thereof with the numeral or other item of information it is desired to display, it is desirable to be able without confusion to set the device from a rear side of the casing. An independent setting in the conventional manner from the rear side would ordinarily cause the display of the numerals in reverse position and vice versaand is confusing to the ordinary operator. In order, therefore, to permit the setting at the rear of the casing in the conventional manner as if being set at the front or obverse side of the casing, I provide reversing means for operatin g the operating member of the compartment at the right hand side of the device from a position at the rear of the left hand compartment and vice versa, being apparent that the numbers in the middle compartment will not be affected by such rear operation, and that when three compartments are used, the reversing me hanism will enable a setting of the numerals in their ordinary conven tional sequence.

To indicate to an operator the releasing position of the operating element for any particular member of the set of plates, I extend one end of the operating member through a horizontal slot 20 in a plate 21., one face of which plates is provided with an indicating scale 22 having numerals and the operating member at its projecting end is provided with a pointer 17 so that movement along the slot 20 may bring it into registration with any one of the scale numerals.

The reverse mechanism preferably employed by me comprises the use of operating links 16, 16, each of which is connected at one end to the operating element of a set at one side of the casing and has its opposite end crossing the middle set and connected to the pointer of the set at the opposite side from the set to which it is connected. As illustrated, each of the links 16 is connected at 16 with an operating shaft or pin for the set at one side of the casing and such links extend across the central set and the operating ole-- ment thereof to the opposite side of the easing where it is provided with a bent portion 16*, the end 16 of which is connected to a pointer 17 slidable in the slot in front of the set located at the said side of the casing opposite to that to which the said opposite end of the arm is connected.

It is desirable alsoto prevent accidental movement of the operating member and to provide for exact positioning of the same with a scale number and with any one of the vertical releasing slots. For this purpose, I provide contiguous to the operating slot through which the operating member extends a spring-pressed inclined rack 23 mounted by slots 23 on pins 23 and normally forced upwardly by a spring 24. Said rack has a series of latching notches 23 and inter-notch inclined teeth 23 which notches successively engage the operating member and normally cause the same to be forced into exactregistration with one of the scale numerals at a time, the teeth preventing the operating pin and pointer from assuming in-between positions.

In the preferred embodiment of my invention, the carrier for raising and lowering the plates is normally retained in its raised position by a latch 10 which engages in a notch 11 in a carrier-operating slide 11 mounted to slide on the outside of the casing in ways12 and 12 and is suitably connectedlthrough slots 13, 13' in the casing with the carrier 8 on the inside of the casing 1. Said slide 11 is provided with a handle 14 and the latch 10 has a latching element 10 pivoted at 10 and normally held in engaging position by the spring 10". Said latch is provided with a finger operating element 10 pivoted on the pin 10 mounted in flanges 1.0 on a base piece 10? mounted on the casing. When the element 10*is depressed against the action of the spring 10', it will cause a raising of the latching element 10 of said latch 10 to release the slide 11 and enable the lowering of the carrier 8 by gravity. Upon upward movement of the carrier-operating slide 11, the notch 11 thereof will automatically engage the nose of the latching element 10' and retain the carrier 8 in its raised position. When my invention is used, as aforesaid, as a run-indicating element or run-plate, it is desirable to indicate Whether the particular run indicated is an extra run or a regular run and for this purpose I provide on the back of the casing an extension plate 15 inscribed with the letter X which, when the slide is extended, indicatesthat the run is an extra run in contradistinction to the ordinary or usual run which is not indicated and durin g which run the said extension plate 15 will he slid back behind the casing.

Having described my invention, I claim 1. An indicator embodying, in combination, a housing, a plurality of indicating members mounted within the housing to move in parallel planes from one position to another, the saidhousing being provided with a wall portion for screening said indicating elements when in one position and having an opening for displaying the same when in the other position, and a single operating element cooperating with said indicating members to selectively release one of such -mcmbers to permit movement from unexposed to exposed. position.

2. An indicator embodying, in combination, a housing, a plurality of indicating members mounted within the housing to move in parallel planes from'one position to another, the said housing being provided with a wall portion for screening said indicating elements when in one position and having an opening for displaying the same when in the other position, and a single operating element cooperating with said indicating members to selectively release one of such members to permit movement from unexposed to exposed position, and a carrier movable vertically for receiving and carrying the released member to exposed and unexposed positionsrespectively. i I

3. An indicator embodying, in combina tion, a housing provided with an interior compartment, a plurality of -informationconta-ining members collectively mounted in said compartment, a common operating element having cooperative engagement with each of said members and arranged upon movement to selectively release one ofsaid indicating members to permit movement of the same from unexposed to exposed positions and vice versa, and a carrier arranged to receive the released mechanism and to move the same. 1

4. An indicator embodying, in combination, a housing provided with an interior compartment, a plurality of metallic plates collectively mounted in said compartment, a common operating element having cooperativevengagement with each of said plates and arranged upon movement to selectively release one of said metallic plates to permit movement of the same from unexposed to exposed positions and vice versa, a carrier movable vertically for receiving and carrying the released member to exposed and unexposed positions respectively, and means for retaining said carrier in its uppermost position.'

5. An indicator embodying, in combination, a housing provided with an interior compartment, a plurality of metallic plates collectively mounted in said compartment, a common operating element having cooperative engagement with each of said plates and arranged upon movement to selectively release one of said metallic plates to permit movement of the same from unexposed to exposed positions and vice versa, said cooperating element comprising a transverse slot in each of the plates and a single suspension ele ment passing through the said slots and each of said plates also having a vertical slot communicating with the horizontal slot, whereby the position of a single suspension element beneath the vertical slot will release any one of said plates, and a carrier arranged to receive the released mechanism and to move the same.

6. An indicator embodying, in combination, a housing provided with an interior compartment, a plurality of metallic plates collectively mounted in said compartment, a common operating element having cooperative engagement with each of said plates and arranged upon movement to selectively release one of said metallic plates to permitmovement of the same from unexposed to exposed positions and vice versa, said cooperating element comprising a transverse slot in each of the plates and a single suspension element passing through the said slots and each of said plates also having a vertical slot communicating with the horizontal slot, whereby the position of a single suspension element beneath the vertical slot will release any one of said plates, and means operable upon the lowering of a plate to automatically lock the suspension pin in registration with the vertical slot of said lowered plate.

7. An indicator embodying, in combina' tion, a housing provided with a plurality of separated interior compartments, a set of indicating members collectively mounted in each of said compartments, a common operating element for the indicating members of each set, said operating element being arranged upon movement to selectively release one of said indicating members and a carrier member arranged to receive an indicating member from each compartment to lower and raise the same conjointly.

8. An indicator embodying, in combination, a housing provided with a plurality of separated interior compartments, a set of indicating members collectively mounted in each of said compartments, a common operating element for the indicating members of each set, said operating element being arranged upon movement to selectively release one of said indicating members and a carrier member arranged to receive an indicating member from each compartment to lower and I raise the same conjointly, means for latching said carrler member 1n raised position to enable it to receive lndicatlng members from said compartments, and means for guiding a movement of said carrier to permit lowering of said indicating members into exposed position.

9. In indicator embodying, in combination, a. housing provided with a plurality of separated interior compartments, a set of indicating members collectively mounted in each of said compartments, a common operating element for the indicating members of each set, said operating element being arranged upon movement to selectively release one of said indicating members and a carrier member arranged to receive an indicating member from each compartment to lower and raise the same conjointly, and means for op erating said sets of indicating members from the rear in regular numerical sequence.

. 10. An indicator embodying, in combination, a housing provided with a plurality of separated interior compartments, a set of indicating members collectively mounted in each or said compartments, a common operating element for the indicating members of each set, said operating element being arranged upon movement to selectively release one of said indicating members and a carrier member arranged to receive an indicating member from each compartment to lower and raise the same conjointly, means for operating said sets of indicating members "from the rear in regular numerical sequence, and means for crossing theoperating mechanism of one or more of said sets to enable operation in regular sequential relationship at said rear side.

'11. An indicator embodying, in combination, a housing provided with a plurality of separated interior compartments, a set of indicating members collectively mounted in each of said compartments, a common operating element for the indicating members of each set, said operating element being arranged upon movement to selectively release one of said indicating members and a carrier member arranged to receive an indicating member from each compartment to lower and raise the same conj ointly, means for latching said carrier member in raised position to enable it to receive indicating members from said compartments, and means for guiding a movement of said carrier to permit lowering of said indicating members into exposed position, said sets of indicating members being provided with a scale arranged in cooperation with the operating member to permit positioning of said operating element to selectively release any one of the indicating members.

12. An indicator embodying, in combination, a housing provided with a plurality of separated interior compartments, a set of indicating members collectively mounted in each of said compartments, a commonoperating element for the indicating members of each set, said operating element being arranged upon movement to selectively release one of said indicating members and a carrier member arranged to receive an indicating member from each compartment to lower and raise the same conjointly, means for latching said carrier member in raised position to enable it to receive indicating members from said compartments, and means for guiding a movement of said carrier to permit lowering of said indicating members into exposed position, said sets of indicating members being provided with a scale arranged in cooperation with the operating member to permit positioning of said operating element to selectively release any one of the indicating members, and a spring-pressed rack having notches cooperating with the suspension element to initially latch the same in alignment with a vertical slot as indicated by the said scale.

In witness whereof, I have signed my name to the foregoing specification.

SOREN MADSEN. 

